TotSpot and InternshipRatings.com at Web Inno 18

July 16, 2008 — 1:04 PM EST — by Amanda Gravel

I was gabbing a lot at Web Inno last night, so I didn’t have too much time to take video. Luckily, I did manage to capture Michael from TotSpot and the Lauren/Stephanie dynamic duo of InternshipRatings.com with the Flip.

TotSpot is a scrapbook-like social site that allows parents to safely share all things “my cute kids” with friends and family. I obviously only got a really brief overview, but the site seems cute and certainly of interest to new and eternally excited parents. Thinking back to some of the choice photos from my early teen years, I’m thinking my parents would totally use this site to blackmail me… But oh, how I would get them back. Check the footage:

InternshipRatings.com wasn’t presenting at the event, but I’ve really enjoyed seeing Lauren Grunstein and Stephanie Gurtman, two Boston University students, take an idea and run with it over the past year. I met these two at last year’s PodCamp Boston 2 and since then they’ve launched their site and are seeing a fantastic level of participation from students across the country. The premise is that students go on this site and rate/tell all about their internship experiences at various companies across various industries. The site also serves as an advice hub for students curious about internships and career paths. Take a look:

This post can also be found on Amanda Gravel’s blog Social Honeycomb.

Slices of Life as a SHIFTer: Snacking on Ice Cream Day

June 18, 2008 — 12:43 PM EST — by Amanda Gravel

The wise words of @repcor: “Ice cream’s really important to me, and life.”

Video Pearls of Wisdom from the Pub Club Panel

June 16, 2008 — 07:35 PM EST — by Amanda Gravel — Add a Comment

This post can also be found at Social Honeycomb.

I managed to capture a video at the end of the Pub Club “Buzz Word: New Media” panel on Wednesday night, and I wanted to share it with my readers. Brian Reich set it up, asking the panelists what PR pros should read or sign up for as a final word of advice. The speakers took the prompt in different directions, and I think there’s some good insight here.

Adam Ritchie thinks you should compare your company’s blog to industry leaders’ blogs and take a look at what’s missing or where you can learn from best practice examples.

Mike Volpe thinks that beyond reading something or signing up for something, every company should blog. He thinks if your company can’t blog, there’s something wrong because you should always have something interesting to share.

Patrick Richardson recommends that PR pros use the Internet as the marketing research tool it is. As he said, your customers are out there, opting in to conversations about your brand. His advice is that using RSS feeds is a great way to listen to these conversations and learn about your consumers.

Mark McClennan feels that too many companies are mute, but that the bigger challenge at this point is too many companies are also “blind and deaf.” There are effective, free ways to listen to and learn from all the things people are saying about your clients online. He also highlights that there are tons of PR pros sharing insight and information on the Web, and it’s important not to overlook these conversations as well. His parting words: You gotta listen and you gotta see.

Also, I won a copy of Brian Reich’s Media Rules. Share in my glee!

SHIFTers: Better at PR Than Softball

June 7, 2008 — 11:28 AM EST — by Amanda Gravel — Add a Comment

Tonight I attended my first SHIFT “Benchwarmers 2.0″ softball game here in Brighton. The team had a great attitude the whole way through, even though the opposing team was made up of absolute beasts who had less than courteous sportsmanship. SHIFT played like the great team we are, and although we didn’t win the game, we all agreed that we “win at life.”

Check out the new Flickr and Facebook groups for Benchwarmers 2.0 photos and footage. As often as I’m able, I’ll be at the games tweeting, taking photos, getting video, making Utterz and probably trying out other new social technologies to capture the softball experience.

We may not be the greatest softball players in Boston, but we have fun.